UROP Project

Macbeth: A Critical Edition

Shakespeare, drama, literature, text editing, bibliography
Research Mentor: Dr. Molly Hand, she/her
Department, College, Affiliation: English, Arts and Sciences
Contact Email: mhand@fsu.edu
Research Assistant Supervisor (if different from mentor):
Research Assistant Supervisor Email:
Faculty Collaborators:
Faculty Collaborators Email:
Looking for Research Assistants: Yes
Number of Research Assistants: 2
Relevant Majors: English or other humanities majors preferred, but open to all majors.
Project Location: On FSU Main Campus
Research Assistant Transportation Required: Yes
Remote or In-person: Partially Remote
Approximate Weekly Hours: 5-10, Flexible schedule (Combination of business and outside of business. TBD between student and research mentor.)
Roundtable Times and Zoom Link:
  • Day: Monday, August 31
    Start Time: 12:00
    End Time: 12:30
    Zoom Link: https://fsu.zoom.us/j/8268879203

Project Description

The project is a critical edition of Shakespeare's Macbeth for New Internet Shakespeare Editions and Linked Early Modern Drama Online.
This critical edition will include a fully annotated modernized version of the play, a thorough transcription of the original 1623 playtext, a critical introduction, a textual introduction, a performance introduction, bibliography of scholarship on the play, and more. The work is in early stages, so there is plenty of opportunity for a research assistant to tackle areas that are most of interest.

Research Tasks: bibliography compiling, assisting with glossing and annotations, collation, comparing paratexts from other critical editions, researching performances from around the globe, could also include text encoding

Skills that research assistant(s) may need: Recommended:
Familiarity with databases such as MLA International Bibliography and Oxford English Dictionary
Familiarity with Shakespeare/early modern English literature
Experience with humanities-based scholarly research

Required
Writing and editing skills
Ability to read carefully for detail
Ability to focus on specific (sometimes tedious) tasks with patience and thoroughness
Ability to conduct deep research without the use of AI
Ability to meet deadlines
Ability to think critically
Ability to work independently
Ability to ask for guidance and clarification when needed

Mentoring Philosophy

When serving in a teaching-mentoring capacity and working closely with a student, whether through UROP or HitM or a DIS, I encourage students to articulate their own objectives at the beginning of the project and term. With those objectives in mind, I can then work to align tasks with a student's interests and goals. This particular project is ideal for UROP in the sense that while it has a very specific outcome - a critical edition of Macbeth - the work towards that outcome includes many different tasks and types of work. I hope to build on a student's existing strengths, while offering opportunities to develop their research experience in new directions. I am interested in a collaborative relationship - not one in which I'm "the boss," but rather one in which we approach challenges together, work toward projected outcomes, and also hold space for curiosity and new discoveries. I am not a "micromanager"; I trust a mentee to be somewhat self-guided while being aware that I am always available to provide clarification. Work-life balance is crucial, and we will establish both project milestones and a meeting schedule with a comfortable pace in mind. Ultimately, this project will benefit from the thoughtful input of an undergraduate research assistant (undergraduate students are one intended audience of the edition), and I look forward to learning and gaining fresh insight and new perspectives along with way.

Additional Information

A zoom roundtable session will be recorded and the link provided immediately upon completion, available for the duration of the week of roundtable sessions.

Link to Publications

https://lemdo.uvic.ca/lemdo/index.html.